[Edit 3: The Islands of Ecestrim is an extremely freestyle RP. Every player gets a huge amount of control in the story, and it's more about building interaction than making sure 'so and so' dies.

Please keep in mind that by entering, though, you automatically give other players the right to play your character for short amounts of time, to progress the story and (like I said) build interaction.

=D So... yeah, if you're interested... check out the OOC thread, and then read the RP itself, and then post in OOC! *thumbs up*]

-[GROUP MISSION]-
-[CHARACTER INTERACTION]-
-[SCI-FI/FANTASY]-

"This world... this world of creatures of violence, and creatures of peace... this world is built on fates and destinies. It is built on action and consequence. Great adventures have been had, and they shall continue to be had throughout the years. Know this, though: No matter how troubling the situation, no matter how hopeless the cause, you are never alone. Welcome to the Islands of Ecestrim."

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[Part One]

There was no one around. Good. Azerbarth couldn't risk being seen. No, not now. Not in his current state of mind. There was nothing in his head but thoughts of murder. This was the closest Azerbarth had ever been to getting what he wanted. For two years, he had planned for this night. The night when he would kill Denskrae. Everything was perfect. The hall was dim, the door to Denskrae's sleeping chambers dead ahead. Azerbarth approached, knife in hand. It was hard to keep quiet, with his long tail and massive feet not designed for stealth operations such as this. As crazed as he was, he was all too aware of every creak, of every scratch, that he made as he inched closer and closer to his target.

Finally, he reached the doorway. 10 minutes couldn't have passed from the time when he left his own chamber 'till now, but to Azerbarth, it seemed as if he had been wandering for hours. He began to breath heavily, as the reality of it all began to come through to him. This was it. As quietly as he could, Azerbarth reached toward the door handle. He firmed his grip on the handle and turned it. The door opened silently. It was welled oiled. Azerbarth would've hoped so. Denskrae was a mysterious one, he was. He was seen only at the Dome Meetings, but otherwise, he might as well have been a ghost. That was precisely why Azerbarth figured that it was him. Everyone else... everyone else had their things to do. Everyone else could to pinned to a certain time and place. But not Denskrae.

The room was lit with ambiance obviously in mind. A pale yellow light covered the whole of the room. This unnerved Azerbarth more than he was willing to bare. He dropped to the floor, and slowly crawled towards Denskrae's bed. It was a vain piece of furniture, with intricate designs carved into the frame, and ruffled bedding. This only fueled the flame of Azerbarth's rage. Fearing the end of the night, he quickened his approach. When he reached the bed, Azerbarth brought himself back onto his feet, using his tail as a support, so that he wouldn't make any sound with his hands. His body a shadow over the sleeping form of Denskrae, he spoke.

"Wake up, Denskrae. Your end has come."

There was no reply. Under Azerbarth's logic, Denskrae had been given his chance to defend himself, and not taken it. He savagely attacked the bed, slashing and thrusting in a frenzy of silver on white. It was a good 5 minutes before Azerbarth realized that whatever he was attacking, it was not Denskrae. Noticing that his eyes were closed, he opened them to find himself sitting on the remains of Denskrae's bed, and nothing more, with a troop of Drakonian Guards at the foot.

"Oh."

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Exile. How did it happen? He had planned all too perfectly. He had watched him like a hawk. He KNEW Denskrae would be in his room that night. He KNEW. He was caught in the act, so there was no denying that. It was the end. Tomorrow, 0800, he was gone. Azerbarth would never get his revenge. There was light at the end of this tunnel, though. As the son of the late General Hygarth, the Drakonian Army had no jurisdiction to confine him to a jail cell. That would be considered 'inhumane' in his society, though no one would've given it any thought when locking up a citizen from the bottom of the spiral. He was sent to his room, where he would be retrieved the next morning. They would surely ship him off to some desolate island, probably Terra Fester...

He wouldn't let them. They left him with an advantage, and he was sure as hell going to take it. Not worrying whether or not there would be guards posted outside of his room (they couldn't do any more than send him back in, anyways), he walked right out. Surprisingly, they had not left anyone out there at all.

"Hahaha, you are too stupid, Denskrae. I am more daring than you think!"

There was only one thing that Azerbarth could do. Get a suit, get the Talons, and get out of there. But another realization came to him. The Talons were in the spire, even higher up than the very top of the dome. He was in the middle. Running up toward the Safe Room, Azerbarth cursed the spiral design of the Life Dome. It was a good 20 minutes before he made it to the spire. No one ever actually went up here, so it was unguarded. Amazing, the naivety of his people.

After climbing the intricate system of ladders that would lead to the top of the spire, he reached the Safe Room. Azerbarth walked in as if it were nothing. There they were, resting upon a gleaming pedestal. The Drakonian War Talons. His father had worn them, until the untimely death of both him and his wife. Azerbarth was almost afraid to touch them, but they were calling to him. There was no chance of being caught at this point, as every one of the hundred thousand residents of the Life Dome, nestled snugly in the center of the island of Drakonia, was asleep, save for a handful of guards patrolling the Government Building. He planned to don the Talons slowly, so as to make it a special moment, but he felt the need to get out quickly. He grabbed the Talons and placed them on his hands. A brilliant array of light resonated from the Talons as they permanently bonded themselves to Azerbarth. It hurt a little, but that was a small price to pay for the power he now held. What WAS a large price to pay, was an unexpected result of putting the Talons on.

The light had shattered all of the windows in the Safe Room, and he could hear the startings of a ruckus downstairs. There was a General's DRA (Drakonian Army) suit of armor in the room, most probably his father's. Azerbarth would probably need that. He hastily put all of the armor on, making sure to double check the wing guards. If he were to get injured there, it would make for a dire situation. With everything he would need for the day he would come back and finish his deed, he approached the window, and jumped. His wings unfolded and he soared away into the distance, to plan, and possibly gather forces, to destroy the pile of corruption that was the Drakonian Government.

As the outline of the massive dome blinked out of sight, Azerbarth had one last thought...

[OOC] Sorry if the ending of my opening segment was a little weak. I'm a bit rushed right now. If you noticed any loose threads, that's because I planned it that way. Stuff will be revealed. For now, feel free to join in and start characters. I intend to have this RPG be alot more 'free', in terms of how other players can shape the events. I'm giving my part of the plot, and now you guys add yours. Eventually, our characters WILL meet.[/OOC]

"Wow, that military training really came in handy. I don't know how I could've made it this far without it," Azerbarth thought to himself as he soared over the multitude of islands scattered throughout the ocean. The many days that his training squad flew continuously had not been in vain. Although many of his fellow trainees (himself included) had fallen ill to exhaustion afterwards, it had made all of the boys (as boys they had been) feel stronger than ever. This was the third day that Azerbarth had been flying, and he was only starting to feel the fatigue inching in on his being. He figured he would be okay for just one more day, though.

Azerbarth had no particular destination, and had spent most of his flight thinking, as he had come to do quite often in the past two years. Mostly it was of his father, and what he would do, given the situation. Needless to say, he would've come out on top, no matter what. To Azerbarth, his father was immortal. Once again, he closed his eyes and let his natural navigational abilities take over, and reflected on recent events. Azerbarth grew up only hearing stories of his father's various adventures throughout the islands. They captured his body and mind, and Azerbarth could think of nothing more than one day, being able to have those adventures. In the same year that his father was murdered, Azerbarth planned to enlist in the Army, to be able to battle alongside his father. However, he would never have that honor, as his mother and father would both be brutally attacked and killed on the eve of his graduation into the Dragonian Army. Not having any desire to continue in military life, Azerbarth opted to not attend his graduation, and instead sought refuge in his dwelling, mourning the loss of his parents for weeks.

As he grieved, though, he was also thinking. Thinking about who could've done it, and planning how to get back at them. Azerbarth in no way expected the Government to handle it at all. From his short time in the military, he knew that the politicians were all nothing more than pompous asses, and nothing would get done if not for his father's sound advice to the mayor. His father's top priority was to lead the Dragonian Army in greatness, but he was also officially the Mayor's Advisor. It might not have been blaringly obvious, but everyone still knew that that essentially made him the most powerful person in the Dome. Everyone also knew that Azerbarth's father would now abuse this power as well, though.

"Whoever did this HAD to have wanted nothing more than to be in my father's position," was what ran through his head over and over again as he sat on his little cot.

After the murders, the Government did give Azerbarth a steady flow compensation money, which was the norm in any case of high-class murder. This did not appease his thirst for revenge at all, though. Yes, he did have money, but he was alone. He could have all the money in the Life Dome, and it still wouldn't matter. He had to get revenge.

So, the next two years were spent planning and scouring the spiral to try and figure out who would kill his parents. Those two years led up to that night, 3 nights ago. For the last two months, Azerbarth had no doubt whatsoever in his mind that the killer was Denskrae. Denskrae was the Chief Healer of the Life Dome, a position that anyone high class would know was more for show than anything. The medicines gotten from the island of Pearlton were all anyone needed to stay healthy anymore. Everyone in the Dome was happy with their position, as everyone played a part, and everyone was rewarded in some form or another.

Azerbarth could see why Denskrae would be tempted to kill his father. As useless as the position was, Chief Healer was still one of the highest ranking positions available in Azerbarth's society. It was directly under Hygarth's position, General of the DRA and Mayoral Advisor. According to Island Policy, Denskrae would be placed into that position. Azerbarth was furious at himself for not coming to such an obvious conclusion until almost 2 years after his parents' death. His two months of planning had also been in vain. Was it just a coincidence, or did Denskrae know? But... how could he know? As far as he knew, Denskrae had seem him perhaps twice since the murders. Once, of course, was to give condolences for the tragedy that had struck his life, and the second was a rare occasion that Denskrae had actually been in the spiral walkways. Surely there was no way that he could've gotten any information about Azerbarth's plans.

That didn't matter right now, though. What mattered was that Azerbarth needed to take his attempts to a higher extreme.

"Apparently, I can't have you in a man-to-man victory, so I'll have to take drastic measures," and he knew just what those drastic measures would be. Azerbarth would assemble a team. A 'strike force', if you will. Yes, he would nullify any chance of anyone in the Dragonian Life Dome interfering with him. He'd need everything. A healer, a thief, a true warrior, and a scout [OOC - You guys, *wink wink nudge nudge]. Especially a scout. If he was seen last time at all, he couldn't afford to be seen again.

His plan set, Azerbarth was able to go for a rest. First, though, he took a quick look around to see where he was.

"Amazing. In three days, I passed 9 of the 11 islands...," Azerbarth thought to himself as he recapped the islands, just to test his memory, "there was Dragonia, land of all that is serpentine; Mageleron, where nearly every magician in the world resides; Pearlton, the origin of all conventional medicine in the world, as well as all healers you may encounter on your journeys; Damnitaria, the source of all evil, and creatures of the night; Agreshille, training ground for all who wish to be mighty in strength; Foreline, a land where archer and animal can live amongst; Crooklin, the island where nothing is sacred, and all are thieves by trade; the Apocalary, where the gods of good and evil fight an endless battle; Terra Fester, basically a 'global prison'," as well as the twin islands that Azerbarth would soon be landing on, Gem and Ini. They were the smallest islands of the 11, and were considered, at most, mere pit-stops along one's route. However, that's not to say that the islands still didn't have their own bustling cities.

Seeing the islands Gem-Ini below him, Azerbarth folded his wings up and performed a technique that he had perfected over his time in the military. He essentially became a plastic soldier and dropped until he was within 100 feet of land, and then opened his wings like a parachute. They had multiple effects. The first would be knocking him back with intense force as his wings caught the wind, giving any Dragonian male a nice adrenaline rush, the second being the prevention of his untimely demise at the hands of terra firma, and the third being a great stretch for the muscles between his shoulderblades and wings. Azerbarth also thought it made him look incredibly cool, despite how everyone he knew told him how silly he looked, flailing after his wings caught.

He made a slow and graceful descent toward the ground, and landed with a dull thud of his feet connecting with the earth. Azerbarth had landed just outside the gates to Ini's city, Luna. He walked in freely, as there was no military presence ever on the twin islands, and immediately noticed the extreme blend of cultures from every island on the planet. There were thiefs playfully being chased away by warriors as the healers ground their herbs nearby. Birds flew happily above, as children, who have not chosen trades at all yet, played tag in the streets. There was no place like this on Dragonia. It was all about duty, and Azerbarth was blown away by how happy everyone looked. He knew that people were definitely happy in the Dome, but not this kind of happy.

Nearby, there was a large, 3-storey building with a sign hanging from it that said 'Inn'. Feeling in his money satchel, Azerbarth noticed what a large amount of money he was carrying.

"Hmm... I suppose I haven't been out much in the last little while," Azerbarth realized, as he walked in the door. It was a quaint little Inn, with a kind looking lady at the counter.

"Hello sir, welcome to the Inn. My name is Juni. Will you be staying in one of our rooms?"

"Please, Azerbarth is fine. It is I who should be calling you maam."

"*chuckles* Oh, don't worry about it, Azzie, no one cares about formality here. It's just policy to start with 'sir' or 'maam'. So, a room for you, then?"

Azerbarth was confused. It was enough that everyone was free of duty like this, but there was no system of heirarchy either? This was all new to him, but he decided to enjoy his time away from home and try to blend in.

"Oh, yes, please. Just one night, though."

"Only one night? Surely you'll be staying longer than that?" Juni inquired as she handed Azerbarth the keys to his room, "that's room 2, third floor, hun."

"Well, possibly, but I have some business to attend to. Thank you."

"Will you get through the door fine, hun?" Juni had just noticed how immensely tall this Azerbarth fellow was.

"*grins* I'll manage," Azerbarth said, as he turned to the stairway. Juni was right; he did have a little trouble getting through the door. Nothing that a bit of bending couldn't fix, though. On his way to his room, Azerbarth noticed that he hadn't seen any of his kind this whole time. "Oh well, they don't matter to me right now. What does matter, is where the hell my room is." Azerbarth, for some reason, had an extremely tough time trying to find his room. He eventually did find it, though, room 2, third floor. The room was just as mellow as the lobby, and he was glad to see that. The bed wasn't quite large enough for him, so he had to drag the second bed from across the room to make it fit for him. Smiling as he thought about the happiness he had seen outside, Azerbarth had one final thought before he fell asleep.

"Tomorrow, I will put my plan into motion. Tomorrow."<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

[OOC] Okay, so you guys are starting to see where you play into this, right? Feel free to start your characters on any of the islands, and feel free to build their own problems on said islands as well. We'll all meet up at some point or another, and we'll fix all of those problems. I don't want to be the main character. We're ALL the main character. =) Don't be swayed into thinking that you have to choose either warrior, thief, scout, or healer, either. Those were just examples. [/OOC]

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[OOC] Sorry if the verb tense (or other aspect of the English language) is a little off between segments. This intro is basically ported from about 3 posts at another board that I go to where this RPG failed. I think it should all fit together, though. Sorry about the length. Anyways, I hope it meets the high-quality standard that I assume this board has. [/OOC]

Edit: [OOC] There's a character profile for Azerbarth in the Character place thingy that should fill you in on his backround. Check it out. [/OOC]

Edit 2: [OOC] I moved Appendix A, which had the 11 islands, along with their descriptions, to the OOC thread for this RPG. Check there for information. Also, please post all questions about this RPG there. [/OOC]

(OOC: Haven't read the entire thing yet, but it's pretty clear that you put a lot of thought into it, and for the most part, it seems that the grammar et al is decent. However, I reccomend putting things such as setting description in a seperate post over in Ye Olde Out of Character Forum. That way, things like the island description won't clutter up this thread, and it'll be easier to read. Also, if you move the setting description to a thread in there, you could use the very same thread as a place to recruit characters! People looking for an open RP generally check there more often than this forum.

Well, might have more to say after I finish reading this, but suffice to say: Welcome!

EDIT: I like what I see, I'll work on an intro in a minute. As a side note, most people here use AIM as an instant messanger, rather than MSN -- a good deal of us (read: me) have our AIM screennames in our profiles, in case you want to get ahold of anyone here, say, to explain how things work and the like.)

Birds chirping. People laughing. Music, playing in the distance. This was the first time that Azerbarth had ever woken up to anything other than the large bell in the center of the Dome, ringing away. It was strange, certainly, but also slightly comforting.

"I am far from them. They will not find me. I won't slip up this time. Not even once."

Azerbarth slowly lifted himself from his makeshift "jumbo" bed, and sat at the edge of the side facing the door. The sudden rush of vertigo from getting up so quickly impacted him like a cannonball. It was something he used to do back in Dragonia, to see how much mental pain he could take. A strange activity, at best. However, it was nothing new to Azerbarth, and he shook it off like it was nothing. He got to his feet and stretched himself out, making sure to grab his tail and give it a good yank. Dragonian tails tend to compress a fair bit once they've been slept on, and it's a very uncomfortable feeling.

There was a small sink in the far corner of the room, and Azerbarth approached it. It looked extremely strange. The water was automatically activated at certain times of the day back in Dragonia. This was different. There were these circley knob things, and what looked like a cork. This left Azerbarth utterly dumbfounded. Deciding that he would wash up later at the lake that he flew over during his landing, he headed toward the door. There were other people staying at the inn, and some of them were out in the hallway as well. He smiled at a few who waved hello, but quite frankly, the young Dragon-anthropod was feeling out of place.

Juni was, once again, working at the counter.

"Are you leaving then, Azzie?"

"Yes. I might be back, though. I'll pay for a few extra nights, just in case."

Azerbarth reached into his money-pouch and re-emerged with a handful of golden coins. He counted out 5 of them and placed them on the counter.

"See you, Juni."

Azerbarth had already decided that he would be back in Ini at some point or another, so he was not worried at all about wasting his money. Looking around the streets in the city of Luna, he was slowly overtaken by the massive amount of things so foreign to him. There were even more people out, now that it was morning, and Azerbarth quickly found himself shuffled along the street by the swaying mass of people making their way through the city. His instinct, of course, was to draw his sword and get everyone away from him. Alas, this tactic wasn't as effective on other islands as it was on Dragonia. He'd more likely be arrested, than anything. So, he submitted to the flow, and let it take him wherever the powers above wanted him to be.

When the morning rush finally subsided, it was the mid-afternoon, and Azerbarth appeared to have been moved right to the other side of Luna. This was just an assumption, as he had never been here before, but it was fairly obvious. The structural design of this area was entirely different. The buildings presented themselves as crudely built, with no efficiency nor aesthetic value in mind. He noted a multitude of bars and taverns along this street, and his thoughts immediately turned to those of curiosity.

"Hmm... there aren't any bars in Dragonia... I've always wondered what these 'brews' I've heard of taste like... just one. That won't do any harm."

Realizing the lack of nobility in his thought process, Azerbarth quickly disguised it with the reasoning that if he couldn't get to the water to wake himself up, he'd have a drink instead. Though he knew he was lying to himself, this logic seemed perfectly rational, and he stepped into the nearest tavern to take a look around.

It was a rather normal day, as far as Ramsus was concerned. Or night. Or whatever. It was rather hard to tell. Time was largely irrelevant to him at the moment, as each day droned on monotonously, blurring into the next. He had come here originally to 'find his destiny', or some other high-hope reason. It didn't seem to be working very well, unless his destiny was to make deliveries from one local shop to another, or to help some old lady till her garden.

As things stood, he waited in a tavern day in and day out. Not for drinking, mind you. Rather, he was keeping track of the local gossip, waiting for something...well, something different. He was positive that at some point, something interesting would happen, and it would lead him into the glamourous life of adventure and importance that he had dreamed of. Something to get him out of the boring rut he was in at the moment.

It just so happened that Dragonian in General's armour didn't show up in town every day, so it wasn't long before he overheard talk of said Dragonion in the tavern. It seemed obvious, to him at least, that this fellow would be his ticket out of here.

Tomorrow would be different. Ramsus would watch for the newcomer, and make every effort to get involved in what was decidedly not his business.

As Azerbarth walked into the crudely constructed building he likely noticed a few people in front of it. For the most part, they were all staring at him, which at this point was hardly an unusual experience.

Among those out front was Ramsus, in his standard gray and brown attire. He had been searching all morning for the foreigner, and had returned here mere moments beforehand to gather more information about his whereabouts. Fate certainly seemed to be smiling on him today, as he watched Azerbarth enter.

"Did you see that, Sal?" Ramsus said to the passed out drunk fellow sitting next to the door. "A Dragonian. Certainly don't see those every day. Dressed up something fancy, too."

As expected, he got no response.

"Watcha think he's up to? It'd be pretty strange for someone like him to be here just for kicks. I mean, it's like he's not making any effort to blend in."

Sal responded by snoring loudly.

"Y'know, I think you're right. Not gonna find out anything sitting out here." said Ramsus, as much to himself as the drunkard. "Nice talkin' with ya, Sal."

With that, he entered the tavern. He made sure to sit somewhere near Azerbarth...not close enough to attract attention to himself, but he certainly didn't want to miss hearing about anything that was going on.

The tavern was dimly lit, and cigar smoke filled the room with an asphyxiating fog. Well, asphyxiating to everyone else in the room. Born in fire and raised in smoke, Azerbarth felt at home in this element. What made him uncomfortable, however, was the multitude of bar fights occuring, all around the tavern. He didn't like not knowing the situation, and this one was so out of his control that Azerbarth was forced to find the safest table possible and wait until someone came to take an order. There would be no counter-lingering for this Dragonian.

10 minutes later, Azerbarth still found himself waiting for service. He was very aware of that, and was growing impatient. What he was not aware of, was the fact that half of the room was already concentrated on him.

"Well, I suppose it's not every day a Dragon-like individual walks into the bar here."

Deciding that it would be best to not get involved, he thought it best to just ignore them all. Alas, Jed, who I suppose is the 'resident brute', took this as a sign of extreme disrespect, and took it upon himself to start a conversation.

"Wuhchoo doin' g'norin' meh?"

"I'm sorry," This man was making no sense whatsoever. He was big, though, so Azer wasn't going to provoke him any further than he already had, "But what are you talking about?"

Jed responded by looking around at his 'thugs' and giving a hearty, yet mocking, chuckle.

"Ye hear that, evr-wun? This here Drakkie feller' 'ink he so smart, wit hus Ang-lesh. Hahahahahahaha!" He was encouraged by his 'thugs'.

"Get 'im good, Jed!"

Azerbarth was stumped. He could just take the physical route, but that was out of the question. He was not getting in trouble with the law again. He would have to talk his way out of this one. But Azerbarth couldn't for the life of him think of anything that would get him out of this one. Coercing someone out of a physical confrontation was not something he was particularly experienced with.

Again, sorry this ended up so long, I got carried away. Here's the intro post.

"NO!!" Azuka shouted, five months ago, upon his arrival to the island of Terra Fester. "HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID!?"

Azuka stared at the map he held in his hairs, a finely-detailed route of the way to get to Terra Fester from Foreline. The title itself was in the bottom right corner, barely legible on that squiggly lettering that scholars liked to write in. It was a great map, obviously, since it had got him here. But why had he bought the wrong one?

"Damn that crummy mapmaker..." Azuka growled, crumpling up the map and tossing it into the ocean. "I knew he never liked me! I wonder who put him up to that?"

He turned around to stare at his new surroundings. From the beach, the island opened into a wide expanse of grassy fields, with a wide brown trail that led off past the horizon.

"Well..." Azuka shrugged, picking up his pack of belongings and moving on. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all! I'll leave my boat here, and try to scrounge up enough money to buy a different map. Then, I guess I'll be setting off again..."

He made his way down the path, walking at a decent pace that wouldn't tire him, but keep him moving. After around twenty minutes, he came across a small farming village in a valley. As he descended down the pathway to the grove the village lay in, he noticed the farms that simply flooded the village's surroundings. It was if everyone and their mother had a farm! Strange, indeed.

The first thing he saw, when he entered the village, was a small girl, about 12 or 13, lying on the ground next to a tree. Her arm was twisted and contorted in a horrible position behind her, which could only mean that she had fallen outside of the tree, and tried to use her arm to break her fall. He rushed over immediately. "Are you okay?"

"Umm...I hurt myself." the girl said, wiping tears from her eyes and turning to look up at Azuka. "I'm okay though."

"You are most certainly not!" Azuka shouted. "Hold on a second, I'll fix you right up."

"W...wait!" the girl whimpered through sniffles. "My..my family doesn't have any money..."

"Who said anything about money?" Azuka said, carefully touching the girl's arm and feeling for the wound. "This'll just take a minute. It's no problem at all!"

"S...stop...you'll..." the girl started to say, but her voice stifled as she closed her eyes in happiness. Azuka had already started on her arm, which now began to emit a warm, yellow glow. It felt so good all of a sudden, she couldn't stop him now. She rested her back on the ground and let him finish his work.

When it was all said and done, the girl pulled herself up, feeling better than new. The sense of dread still lived on in the back of her mind, however, and she looked upon this traveler with eyes of great pity. "Come with me..." she said quickly, running deeper into town. Azuka followed her, a bit confused, and eventually she moved up into a large peach-colored house, with a tomato garden to the side. She pulled open the door and moved in, and Azuka followed obediently.

Inside, Azuka saw what he believed were the girl's parents, a strong, tall farmer, and his beautiful housewife. He bowed politely, unsure of what exactly the girl called him in for.

"Look, sir, I'm grateful for what you did to my daughter, but there's no way we can pay you. You should have known that, just seeing this poor girl on the ground like that. I apologize, if there's any way we can make it up to you, without...without getting them involved, then I'm up for it."

"Um, I didn't mean to cause any trouble." Azuka said, really confused by now. "My name is Azuka Ingram, I am an elf from the island of Foreline. I was enroute to Mageleron, when I...uh, got to this island by mistake. I was simply coming into town to buy a sufficient map to continue my journey, and I saw your daughter on the ground. She looked like she needed help, so I did. You don't have to pay me or anything, I just did it because I felt like it." he shrugged.

"I see..." the man's father cast his face downwards. "What a big serious of mistakes. You've really got yourself in some trouble this time, guy. I mean, we had assumed that you had an Official Healer's License earlier, and that you were just looking for money. But now, we know that you don't even have one, and aren't even a registered citizen here...."

"What does that mean?" Azuka asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's illegal for any sort of medical attention to be done by anyone who has not been sanctioned by the Festerian Government. If they find you, pal, they're going to throw you in jail for an undetermineable amount of time."

"Wh...what!?" Azuka shouted. "Why?"

"It's just one of many laws." the man said. "We've been under oppression since around 50 years ago, when the previous king was overthrown by the dark forces of Kielruth. From then on, all our towns have been under martial law, our people thrown in jail for unreasonable means, and all of us thrown into farming to create food for the army, which should be mobilizing very soon."

"If we could, we would." the man said. "However, there are no shops that sell any sort of shipbuilding material, and even if we tried to leave, they'd kill us on the spot. People don't come here voluntarily any more, so they need to keep all the people they can. It's out of the question."

"Can't you rise up against him?" Azuka asked. "Isn't there a hero here somehwere who can take him on?"

"No way." the man growled, getting angry himself. "Any person who tries to rise up is always overpowered by more monsters than they can handle at once. Their hordes are enormous, it's unbelievable. There is no hope for us. And you, sir, have just joined our ranks."

"Crap..." Azuka said. "This is bad. This is....I have to get out of here right away!"

"Run." the girl's father shouted. "Get out of here before they see you."

"Thank you for your help." the girl's mother said, bowing. "It is much appreciated."

Azuka dashed out of the house, picking up his robes and moving as fast as his body could take him. Of course, this was rather slow, and on top of that, he was not wearing the ideal shoes for running -- leather thongs. It wasn't even ten seconds before he crashed down into the dirt, his face crashing into gravel beneath him.

When he looked up, two soldiers in dark black armor were standing in front of him, two broadswords strapped to their backs.

"I didn't know!" Azuka shouted. "I didn't know!"

He heard the sudden snap of a door, and looked down to the house the nearest to the entrance, only a few feet from the tree he had found the girl at. So a villager had sold him out...it was staring to look pretty bleak.

The soldier hefted him up, a mere rag doll in comparison to their strength. "You are coming with us to stand trial immediately on your crime. From then on, your fate shall be decided. We are confiscating all your belongings for safety measures."

And so, he was dragged to court, where he stood an unbelievably biased trial, and thrown into jail two days later. From then on, he had attempted many times over to escape, but barely got a few feet from his cell before he was caught. The first time, he was almost executed, but he had had such good behavior normally that the guards decided to leave him for their own amusement.

And so, the fifth month of his time in captivity had just rolled around. At this point, he had pretty much lost all hope of ever escaping, and had retired himself to his 'undecided' time of imprisonment. If only he had bought the right map! If he did ever get out of here, he'd have to hunt down that guy and make him pay! ...right after he got a decent night's sleep.

The situation was, for all intents and purposes, exactly what Ramsus was waiting for. The Dragonian was in a situation that he didn't know how to deal with. All he would have to do is step in, resolve it, and he would be well on his way out of here. After all, regardless of the situation, having a Dragonian in the armour of a general in your debt was a without a doubt a ticket to great things.

Ramsus stood, and made his way to the Azer's table. He tapped Jed on the shoulder.

"Easy there, Jed..." said Ramsus calmly, gesturing to a corner a short distance away. "Can I talk t'you for a minute here?"

With a grunt, Jed walked over to the corner, with Ramsus following shortly. He left his cadre of thugs watching Azerbarth, making sure he didn't try anything. "This better be good, I'sa just 'bout to kick 'is scaley arse..."

"Well, think for a bit about it." replied Ramsus. "He's a Dragonian, and a fancy one at that."

"...so?"

"So he don't look like he knows how to win a fight wit'out killin' the other guy, y'know?" Ramsus continued. "So yeah, you might try to fight 'im, but think about it. He's like, way bigger than ya, and probly had some schoolin' as far as makin' folks dead goes, and if it gets down to it, he probably ain't got any problem usin' that schoolin' on you."

"'ey, but there's one o' 'im, an I got all them backin' me." Jed gestured to his posse.

"Oh, but y'see, if all them jumped in once things started goin' his way, that'd kinda mess up yer reputation. You dun want people t'start thinkin' of ya as the guy that can't do nothin' on his own, aye? Worse yet if he messes you up afore they can step in. Ya gotta make sure ya don't lose face, y'know?"

"...well...I guess so..."

"So here's what I thinks would be a good plan." said Ramsus. "Just let 'im know that he got off easy this time and that you'll be watchin' 'im. Make it all threatenin'-like, so 'e knows y'mean business, then go on like normal. Sound like a good plan?"

Jed stared for a moment, then went back over to Azerbarth. "Listen 'ere, drakkie, ya got 'erself off easy, but we's watchin' ya, so dontchoo try nuffin, y'ere?"

Gathering his thugs, Jed wandered off to pester someone in a different part of the tavern. Ramsus took the opportunity to take a seat near the Dragonian.

"Don't seem well traveled for a general..." was all Ramsus said. The ball was in Azer's court now.

What was this? Was it possible that someone (in a tavern, of all places) had actually helped him? This was unheard of to Azerbarth, as he had always been raised to solve his own problems. Azer didn't completely agree with this line of thinking anyways, so that wasn't what shocked him. What shocked him was the fact that someone had helped a Dragonian. The general belief around the Dome was that the Dragonian race was a feared and respected one, and that beyond business services, most other folk didn't care to get in the way of a Dragonian's business. It wasn't a hard thing to believe, considering the sheer size of the people, as well as the 4 inch claws.

However, Azerbarth wasn't one to dwell long on thoughts pertaining to the ego, and how large it may be, so he tried to make conversation with this young fellow who'd so mercifully helped him.

".... ummm.... well.... gee.... thanks? My name is Azerbarth, and I come from the Dome. Yourself?" Azer reached out to shake the young man's hand, but quickly realized that it was somewhat of an impossibility, what with his Talons in the way. "Oh, uhh, sorry." A sheepish look came upon the Dragonian's face.

"Ramsus Lycomedes is the name. Oh, no worries about the handshake. Folk 'round here don't bother with that anyways... and YOU, shouldnta come ta this tavern."

Oh, perfect, more confrontation. Azerbarth's look of sheepishness quickly changed to that of disgruntledness.

"What? Oh, sorry, big guy, didn't mean it that way. All I'm saying is that there's a perfectly respectable pub downtown for folk like yerself."

"Folk... like myself? You mean more Dragonians?"

".... errr.... no.... okay, you know what? I'll take you there myself. We can aquaint ourselves on the way," Ramsus directed as he made his way toward the door.

"Sure... I guess." Azerbarth was feeling that this Ramsus person was being a bit hasty, but oh well, he seemed nice enough. Azer followed his new aquaintance through the door, saying as they passed, "Lycomedes.... Agreshillian, huh?"

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[OOC] Hope you don't mind that I played your character a little. I tried to stay true to his character. Feel free to play around with Azer a little in your next post. It'll toss it up for me a little and make it a little more improvisational. =D

Oh, and Molokidan, I have somewhat of an idea for where FD and I might be taking our end of the story, so have no fear, you shant be alone for long! Try and get a couple more people, though. I think this RP has some potential! ^^ [/OOC]

Azer considered the risks and benefits of telling his new friend his true intents. It really couldn't hurt much, considering he was on Ini. This was like asylum in Ecestrim. But then again... this fellow was talking about murder and backstabbing in Crooklin... not the most inviting of topics... perhaps an interrogation of sorts would work.

"Well... okay, tell me, what experience or knowledge have you had with corruption?"

Ramsus gave a hearty chuckle, and this one genuinely amused, as opposed to Jed back there in the tavern, and remarked, "Corruption? Step back a seccie, Azer. You're asking a bloke from Crooklin if he ever 'ad no experience with corruption? Hahahaha... okay, okay... I'm telling you, Azzie, corruption may as well 'ave been my parents. What of it?"

Strike one. Azerbarth had learned over time that three mistakes in the attempt of asserting control of a situation generally A) got you killed, or B) turned the tables, making you the one under control, depending on just what the situation was. This convenient lapse of logic brought Ramsus that much closer to having Azerbarth under him in the ladder of control. His goal was the top priority and if this Ramsus were trying to get something from him, as Azer suspected he was, then he was not going to let it happen.

However, he did come from Crooklin, so perhaps Ramsus came with some potentially helpful skills... breaking and entering, for instance, wasn't one of Azerbarth's strong suits. Then again, perhaps Azer was taking this in completely too much a military manner and just needed to kick back. Such a simple act, telling your story, but WHY did there have to be so many variables?

Oh, wait. There was one course of action that Azer knew VERY well, and had come to appreciate VERY much.

"Oh, nothing. It's just essential to your understanding of why, and how, I got here. However, I warn you this. If you try to backstab or... shank..." which Azer said in somewhat of a digusted manner, "... me, in any way, shape, or form, I will grip your organs from the outside of your body and slowly melt them with a fiery hot aura. Understand?"

As Azer was explaining the conditions of hearing his story, Ramsus' eyes got larger and larger, until by the end, it would appear that they wanted nothing more than to be on the other side of the world.

Not exactly in the mood to have his organs reduced to a smoldering pile of muck, Ramsus submitted... for the moment. Azerbarth went on to tell his story, in a shorter form, mind you, to him, going a little heavy on the part about how he needed help.

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[OOC] Bleh... I haven't looked it over yet, but I have a feeling this post was boring and stupidly unorganized. >.> [/OOC]

[Edit: Okay, I over-exaggerated. I read it over, and it's not THAT bad. Whatever.]

Ramsus listened to Azerbarth's tale, still not entirely believing that he even had the ability to fulfill his threat from earlier. Sure, Dragonians could apparently do some crazy things, but exterior organ melting seemed a bit much, even for them.

Still, the story seemed to be exactly what Ramsus wanted to hear. He seemed to be the key to adventure and greater things that the Crooklinite had been waiting for. Besides, it was obvious that the Dragonian needed help. Not just for his revenge, but also to avoid getting lynched or something in a non-Dragonian society.

"Well..." Ramsus began, after Azer had finished his story. "Good thing ye found me here! It'd be a shame to hafta go ta Crooklin for any reason, much less to find someone t' pick locks and the like."

Ramsus suddenly stopped.

"Whadya know, we're here!" he said, gesturing to the building next to them, which happened to be a pub.

(OOC: I'll leave it to you to put the PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED TRAVEL PLAN (tm) into motion whenever it seems appropriate.)

Damn cellsâ€¦ the half-demon thought. I really want a steak. We donâ€™t get any meat at all in here until tomorrow, and that wonâ€™t be any good at allâ€¦ but I really want a steak. Damn Terra Fester for not giving me MY DAMN FOOD.

Looking around outside her cell, Quinn caught sight of a guard.
â€œExcuse me!â€ she called, waving the tips of her slightly clawed fingers at him. Once the guard made his way over to her cell, she dropped her arm and let it hang limply out between the moderately spaced barring. She licked her lips and raised one shaded eyebrow. â€œHi. I know you really arenâ€™t supposed to fraternize with theâ€¦ guests of this facilityâ€¦ butâ€¦â€ She paused to smile shyly. â€œIâ€™m very hungry, and if you could do me a tiny favor and get me a steak, Iâ€™d be sure to make it worth the risk.â€

The guard blinked. â€œWhatâ€™s your name, miss?â€
She grinned up at him, flaring her wings a bit and crinkling her nose endearingly as she smiled. â€œQuinn. Donâ€™t you be forgetting me now.â€
â€œWell, I suppose if all you want is a littleâ€¦ steakâ€¦ you seem like a nice young ladyâ€¦â€
â€œOh, I am. I really am.â€
He smiled. â€œWell then. I guess Iâ€™ll be right back.â€
Quinn chuckled deep in her throat. â€œIâ€™ll be waiting.â€ Iâ€™ll only be here a while longer anyway. Not like they can keep me if Iâ€™m only here informally. Stupid father grounding me at stupid Terra Fester. Well, I can at least enjoy myself while Iâ€™m here. â€¦I wonderâ€¦ did I remember to ask that guardâ€™s name?

When he returned, he had a steak in one hand and no armor on. â€œYouâ€™re in luckâ€¦ it seems Iâ€™m off duty for a while. Found someone to cover my shift.â€
Quinn was reclining on the narrow mattress in the center of her cell. â€œOh? Anyone I know?â€
â€œJalus. Big guy, arms like a lumberjack. â€
â€œAh yes. Jalus. Yes, I do remember him. Very nice man.â€ Quinn seemed a little distracted. She got right to the immediate point. â€œHow about that steak?â€
â€œRight here, Quinn. You know old Ralan the helpful warden will take good care of you.â€
Quinn smiled demurely over the plate. Ralan it is, then. I should really try and remember to ask. â€œI bet you will. I owe you one for the dinnerâ€¦ give me just a moment to finish this up.â€

(OOC: Might as well take advantage of the chance for some good ol' CI!)

"Dammit!" Azuka cursed to himself, as he watched the guard hand over the lush, juicy-looking steak to the demoness a few cells down. "Now that's just ridiculous! There's no reason for her to get a steak while the rest of us suffer! That settles it; I'm gonna make a scene!"

"Hey, you!" Azuka called to Jalus suddenly. Jalus spun around immediately, a stone-cold glare on his face.

"Er...um...I don't know what came over me." Azuka said meekly, backing up against the hard wall behind him. "You just go on doing what you were doing there...yeah, that's it."

Jalus shrugged, and did so, exiting the hallway entirely. Azuka shook his fist in frustration, and then once again grabbed onto the bars and peered down the hallway. The demoness had just finished her rather disgusting ingestion of the steak, and was now sitting placidly in her cell.

Maybe she just got here this month.. Azuka thought to himself. I've never noticed her before!

"Hey, you with the steak!" Azuka shouted. A few other, less enthusiastic prisoners eyed him irritatedly, and then went back to their work, as if they were used to this sort of thing. "What's your secret? I mean, what'd you do to get the steak? I want one too!"

(OOC: As the guards become Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with interchangeable names. Cool.)

Mm. Food... I can't believe I didn't think to-- Quinn noticed the loudmouth down the hall.
â€œExcuse me? Youâ€¦â€ she laughed. â€œWell, who am I to judge? You want a steak sweetheart? Thatâ€™s fine, but I donâ€™t know how many of the guards here swing that way. I could find out if you likeâ€¦â€
Oblivious. Oblivious butâ€¦ kind of cute. Wait! Iâ€™m going to remember this time.â€œBut since you want my helpâ€¦ whatâ€™s your name?â€ She winked at him. â€œI donâ€™t even know if weâ€™re going to be friends.â€

â€œWell, Azuka. My nameâ€™s Quinn. You may be here by accident, but youâ€™re still here.â€
She stood very close to the bars of her cell, her left arm and foot inching out into the hall beyond. She curled her fingers around one of the bars next to her waist, rubbing it with her thumb.

â€œSoâ€¦ you only looking for friends who can get you a nice dinner?â€ Quinn asked. How obvious am I going to have to be? She thought. Stupid prison. If I werenâ€™t in here I wouldâ€™ve had him already. The chase is fun, but I chase for a reason.

She chuckled and continued. â€œBecause if all you need is a little companionship in a big, lonely place like thisâ€¦. Iâ€™m your girl, Azuka, steak or no steak.â€

"Well, when you put it that way..." Azuka said, pondering Quinn's words in his mind for a moment. "It's not that I want just a good dinner, although I do...I also want to get out of here!"

He watched Quinn carefully, waiting for the moment when she would slip out of the bars - or produce another steak from somewhere. It never happened.

"You don't make sense!" he shouted. "How are you supposed to be my friend, or even get me a nicer dinner, when you can't even get out of your cell yourself?"

A fellow in the cell across from Azuka's began to grumble, and started flinging feces in Azuka's general direction.

"ARGH!" Azuka shouted, dodging out of the way, taking refuge in the back of his cell. "Just wait till I get out of here, you! I'll have you know that my father was a 3rd-star archer, and my mother was a 2nd-star to boot! Since I'm they're son, that's 3 + 2, which means I'm a 5-star! You'd better watch your back if you know what's good for you! Furthermore..."

Noting the considerable visual difference between the two bars, Azerbarth followed Ramsus through the entrance to this pub, which appeared to be made of a glistening mahogany, as opposed to the crimped sheet metal that "Lardo's" (our good friend Jed's hangout) utilized.

The interior was also, expectedly, vastly different from it's dilapidated counter-part. There was still smoke in the air, but Azer could simply tell that it was of finer quality, by the fact that it didn't leave a stinging sensation in his nostril lining after inhalation. An interesting trait, smoke quality detection. It appeared that the pub was divided into two rooms, one being more of a lounge, and the other more like "Lardo's", save for the presence of certain... "undesirable" folk. If Azer's guess that the door was made of mahogany was correct, then the rest of the pub was lined with it as well. It really did create a "homey" feeling.

Looking back over at the doorway to the second room, Azer noticed smoke coming in from there too.

"Guess it's not the greatest of places for non-smokers... oh well, no matter to me," Azer thought to himself before remembering that he had completely forgotten to acknowledge Ramsus since entering the door. "Well, this place is certainly less... confrontational."

There was no reply. "Oh, great. Lost him already. So, what do I do now?" Azer considered leaving and seeing if Ramsus had just decided to step out for a second... or perhaps he wasn't a smoker, but then he heard his name being called to his right.

"Azer! Hey, Azer! C'mere!"

Azerbarth looked to where the voice originated, and found Ramsus, already distracted from his attempts to get Azer's attention and flirting with a pretty bar-waitress. Heaving a sigh of bemusement, he wandered over to the table where Ramsus was now completely engrossed in his new goal of finding a companion for that night.

"Well, you certainly found a spot quickly."

There was a slight delay between when Azer made his remark and when he got a reply. The waitress actually had to point out that Ramsus' "friend asked a question" (surely, this wasn't the smartest of waitresses).

".... oh, huh? Hey, Azer! When'dja get here? I been waitin' for awhile!"

"....."

".... rightey, then... let's get us some drinks. Haylie, darlin', coulda get us a couple o' brews?"

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[OOC] FD... think you can build some conversation or something? Feel free to stop it any time you want. I'm just lacking any good ideas for conversation right now. I'll take whenever you stop as the queue to put the pre-discussed plan into action, though. =D Thanks! [/OOC]

Quinn narrowed her eyes.
"Now wait just a minute. Who said I can't get out of here? It would be a pain in the ass, sure... but I haven't actually committed a crime--" depending on the legal system "--and they can't keep me. Who's to say I couldn't get out?"
Quinn paused.
"And you with the damned feces. Knock it off! I'm trying to get acquainted with that fellow, and I don't fancy the smell of your shit. Do NOT make me KICK YOUR ASS like I did last time I was here."
The disgruntled prisoner put the handful he was readying back on the floor, glaring at Quinn.
"Woman! You shouldn' even be here! All women is PISON! Git outta here wit your womanly WILES and leave us MEN to our DISPUTE."
Quinn took a single slow, deep breath. She exhaled, paused and said calmly, "Oh that is it."

Quinn felt around the door of her cell to the welded lock. "Hm... it had to have been fixed on here somewhere.... Ah!" She drew her fist back and brought it down hard on the lock once, twice, finally breaking it with a third hit.

The prisoner in question found himself face to face with an angry demon. He wiped his hands and scrambled to the back of his cell. "I'll YELL I will! I ain't takin no more BEATINGS from the likes of you!"
A feral grin spread over her face, showing a pair of delicate sharpened fangs. "Say please."
"Please?"
"Say 'please, ma'am.'"
"Please MA'AM."
"Fine." She turned to Azuka. "What were you saying over there sweetie?"

Quinn put her hands on her hips and sighed. "You're lucky you're cute. Hold on. This will work better this way." Quinn took off one shoe and threw it at the light, knocking it to the floor and breaking it. "Let me get rid of these. I can see in the dark a whole hell of a lot better than the guards."
Quinn finished off the other few light sources in the hall and approached Azuka's cell. After inspecting the lock, she determined it was slightly better-made than the one she just broke. Resting one finger on the side of her nose, she tilted her head and considered the situation.
"Hm."
Quinn abruptly kicked the lock, cracking it against the adjacent iron.

Azuka stared at Quinn blankly. She just...she just broke out of her prison cell. Wait, no, she just punched the lock and destroyed it. That's...

"WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT!?" Azuka shouted angrily, raising his arm back furiously, and punching at the lock of his own cell.

*crunch*

"....URGH!" Azuka pulled back his fist from the lock, which was now bruised and screaming in pain. "Wait...um, ma'am, you aren't going to just leave me like this, are you? You gotta let me out! We're friends, remember?"

*CLANG* *CRASH* Quinn made out a muffled scream of a whisper from Azuka's general direction. "ARGGH! What the hell did I trip over?! There's not even anything in here!" *SMASH*

"ahem...." Azuka stood up, brushing himself off as best he could. Quinn watched as he made his way over to the cell bars, nearly smacking his forehead off the bars themselves.

"Sorry about that...there is a breed of mutant rats in this prison, that only come out in absolute darkness. I was just fending off a new family of them, with my special 'Golden Hammer' technique...it's okay, you can thank me later. I don't mind if you want to follow me, because I know that such things can scare ladies. In any case, allow me to open this large iron door that seems to be standing in our way..."

Quinn could hear strange grunts of pain, muffled cursings, and then eventually silence. After a few moments, Azuka spoke yet again:

"I suppose...um...you see, the fight with those rats sucked my strength out considerably, and um...well, I, you know...can you open the door for me?"

"Oh for crying out loud. Come here then." Quinn pulled the door open and reached in. She grabbed Azuka's hand in the dark and pulled him out of his cell. Grabbing the back of his neck, she kissed him full on the mouth and ran off down the hallway, pulling him behind her.

"Come on!" She whispered back to him. "Don't worry, I can see in the dark, but you need to stay with me. Down and to the left is the medical wing. One of the rooms has a window. Once we're outside, just leave it to me!"

â€œWe wonâ€™t get caught. I know this office. The doctorâ€™s a nice man.â€
They turned the corner.
â€œA friend of mine, but unfortunately isn't in today.â€
She broke open the door to the office. It was furnished, looking more like the manâ€™s personal quarters than any kind of medical facility. â€œDonâ€™t worry, Iâ€™m in here all the time. I have frequentâ€¦ medical needs.â€
She sat down abruptly on the shoddily upholstered couch. â€œSoâ€¦ we can either do this the easy way, or the fun way. The easy way isâ€¦ we break out through the window and I fly us out of here.â€ She flexed her wings for emphasis. â€œThe fun way isâ€¦ we let the guards catch everyone else so theyâ€™ll be nice and distracted. Meanwhile you and I stay right in here where weâ€™re safe. Just a meek lady inmate and a temporary substitute for our regular doctor.â€
She strode confidently to a cabinet on the wall, pulling out a set of the doctorâ€™s clothes as though she were quite well familiar with where the man kept his uniform when he wasnâ€™t wearing it. She compared two sets of clothing, holding them up to Azuka. â€œThese are probably the right size, but this just isnâ€™t your color at all. Iâ€™d go for the other, even if it may not fit as well. What do you think?â€ She didnâ€™t pause long enough for him to get a word in. â€œTell you what. You just pick one and change while I wait.â€
Quinn handed him both uniforms and sat back down, watching expectantly.

She..she just kissed me!! Azuka thought to himself, as he was dragged into the abyss. I just got my first kiss from some prisoner I don't even know!!!

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?!" Azuka apparently still had enough energy left to whine, even after being soul-kissed by the beautiful woman who had just released him from his captivity. "If we're caught, we're dead meat, you know!"

The prison itself was in chaos. Prisoners were following the example Quinn had started and were smashing themselves free, both in the darkened hallway they had escaped from, and in the upper hallways where there were still lights.

"Blackout in Cell Section B!" In the command center of the prison, a supervisor shouted at the top of his lungs. "Multiple escape attempts are happening at this very moment! This is a terrible crisis, boss!"

"Send out the Retrieval Team." a man with a deep voice replied. "Tell them to catch all the escapees and kill them if necessary."

Azuka blinked, looking at the pile of clothing that lay in his hands. He looked to Quinn quickly, and then turned his eyes back to the clothes.

"I'll wear the white one, I guess..." he said warily, picking out the plain whites. "So..." he peered around the room meticulously, finally spotting what seemed to be a long curtain over by a window. "I'll go change over there, just hold on a second!" he said dashing over and immediately hiding behind the curtain.

o.o{|

He peeked back for a split-second and then dissapeared behind the curtain again.

Quinn covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter. He went for it! I knew he would be fun.â€œUmâ€¦â€ she stifled another laugh. â€œDo you have enough room behind that curtain? Youâ€™ll have an easier time changing out here if his clothes are half as difficult to get into as they are to get off.â€

"Um...no, I'm fine! Absolutely fine! Right as rain!!" Azuka called back out shakily. At least she can't see the sweat running down my forehead!

Azuka peeked out the window as he was changing his pants, and saw a flash of lights and firearms, as the guards began gunning down some of the fleeing prisoners. Some of them had been caught, some had been beaten. In any case, the prisoners were definitely not winning the struggle.

Scary! Azuka thought to himself. Good thing we're in here, where we're safe. I guess I was pretty lucky to run into Quinn after all.

He finished out and walked back out, brushing his hair out from the white smock, and adjusting the pants, which were extra baggy on his pathetically thin frame.

"...do you think I should wear the glasses?" he said, pulling a pair of spectacles from the smock's chest pocket. "You know, would it be more convincing?" He plopped them over his nose, as if to demonstrate.

â€œWhatever makes you happy.â€ Quinn eyed the window. â€œYou sure you want to play it this way? I mean, youâ€™re a nice guy and you could easily pass for the doctorly typeâ€¦but you donâ€™t seem like a great taker of risks to me.â€ Quinn looked out the window, remembering his victory over the 'mutant rats'. â€œI really only wanted to do this because it might be interesting, but now that I think about it, you could probably be in some danger.â€
Quinn raised her eyebrows and looked back at him. â€œWell? Second thoughts?â€

"Wait, what are you talking about!!" Azuka said staring at Quinn in shock. "You're the one who had the guts to punch through your own cell! I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for your great idea! Don't worry about me; I'm fine! But you can't start saying ominous stuff like 'No...maybe this was a bad idea after all!' or things like 'Hmmm...maybe we should think this over!', okay! If you do that, then what am I going to do!?"

â€œWell, as long as youâ€™re okay.â€ Quinn shrugged. â€œIâ€™m just saying, I can protect myself if I have to, and I can probably help you out to a large extent. But, and hereâ€™s the part you should remember, you might have to fight and one of us may get hurt.â€
Quinn stood. â€œIf youâ€™re okay with it, and Iâ€™m more than okay with either a quick escape or a good fightâ€¦ then letâ€™s just stay in here until it all dies down, and either go out the window or even the front door when the time comes.â€ She pointed her finger at him, close enough to his face for him to get a good look at her clawed hand. â€œWorse comes to worse, you remember you wanted to get out. I didnâ€™t make you do anything. I donâ€™t want any guilt trips if this doesnâ€™t go right.â€
She extended her hand to shake. â€œIâ€™ve got your back if youâ€™ve got mine as long as weâ€™re in here. Weâ€™ll talk about it again when weâ€™re out. Deal?â€

She's too scary!! Azuka thought in horror, as he watched Quinn outstretch her hand to him. How can I be partners with someone like this!!

Grinning too widely, he gave her a firm handshake. "Great!" he said. "Just tell me if you get tired and need to me to cover for you or anything, or if you want me to carry you if you are out of breath. It's okay, I won't tell anyone!"

Suddenly, the door flew open. Two guards had the body of another guard between them. They brought him and set him lightly down onto the cot in the middle of the room.

"Hey, doc!" one guard shouted. "Get over here, quick! Raz's been stabbed, really bd! He's losing blood fast, he had his whole chest cut up by a prisoner! We need to help him immediately, or else he'll definitely die!"

Raz, the man on the cot, looked pretty bad. He was groaning, moving his head left to right, and the area from his neck to his waist was a bloody mess.

"Man, I can't wait till the Retrieval Team gets here..." the second guard sighed. "This is really getting out of hand."

"Come on, what are you waiting for!!" the first guard shouted to Azuka. "Get going, get going!"

Azuka turned his face sharply to Quinn, his eyes nearly popping from his sockets. "What..do...we...do!!" he shouted, through gritted teeth.

Quinn pretended to be horrified at the sight of blood. Anyone who hadnâ€™t seen her five seconds before would have worried about the poor distressed young woman.
â€œOh, help him doctor!â€ She averted her gaze. â€œItâ€™s just too awful.â€
One of the guards who brought Raz in was standing near the couch. She ran and buried her face in his muscled chest. He looked down at her. â€œItâ€™s all right, maâ€™am. We have the best doctors in the area at this prison, and Raz will be fine.â€
She looked to Azuka beseechingly. â€œOh, help him quickly!â€ If Azuka can just manage to fake this well enoughâ€¦ if notâ€¦ hopefully I can keep this guard distracted long enough that he wonâ€™t notice. If he does notice, well then itâ€˜s only two guards. I can probably handle them both myself. She threw her arms around her guardâ€™s neck, clinging to him.
â€œReally, maâ€™am. This is no time to be having a fit.â€ He shook his head. â€œIn my day the convicts were hardened criminals!â€ And this woman is getting in my way! â€œPlease! Sit down.â€ He shoved her off onto the couch, where she continued her display of anxious concern, trying to buy time for Azuka.

She totally abandoned me!! The warning sirens were going off in Azuka's mind as he stared at the bloody body of the man beneath him. Great, this is just PERFECT! Now what am I going to do?

He reached his arm, shaking, down to the man's uniform, and unbuttoned it, trying to do what he thought was a professional.

Then again... he thought to himself. The old hag did teach me a few tricks..maybe I can do something for this guy after all!

Azuka placed his hands on the man's wounded chest, closing his eyes and trying not to become grossed out.

He chanted the words of the spell softly, and the bleeding began to thin out. Finally, after a five-minute period as everyone stared in awe, the man's wounds started to heal.

"He was cut pretty bad, so we'll have to wrap him up a bit." Azuka, caught up in the moment, dashed over to a cabinent and found some medical gauze, wrapping it around the man's midsection and securing it tight. "He needs to get some rest for a while."

The second guard looked from Raz to Azuka, and then to the first guard. "Did..he just use...."

"..magic?" the first guard stood up, suddenly a bit more interested in Azuka than Quinn. "Hold on a second...what do you think you're doing! You know that no one can use magic except--"

"SHUT UP!" a groggy voice called from the side. It was Raz, his bloodshot eyes looking at Azuka. "Thank you, sir, whoever you are. You sure as hell ain't the prison doctor, but you did a better job than he ever would have. You two..." he said, staring at the other two guards. "I can't believe you guys. You were actually going to detain the guy who saved my life?"

"But what if he's an escaped prisoner!" the first guard shouted.

"Forget about it! Get me the hell out of here, and go catch the other ones, who doing damage instead of such atrocities as healing our own men!"

The two guards looked down, and began to wheel Raz out on the stretcher.

The second guard cast one last gaze at Azuka, before shutting the door entirely.

"Well..." Azuka said, rushing over to a seat and sitting down, running his fingers through his hair and catching his breath. "That..that went well, didn't it?"

A slow grin spread across her face. "Azuka... you're a natural at this!" Crinkling her nose again as she laughed, Quinn threw her arms around him. "We just may make it!" she whispered, tapping him on the nose affectionately. Quinn wet her lips. That was good. I like him. I wonder how much time before another guard-- Quinn! Keep yourself together. Only one kind of fun at a timeâ€¦ at least for now. Escape first, sex later!Quinn cleared her throat and was all business again. She stepped back from him for the moment. â€œAnyway. That was nicely done. Iâ€™ll have to live up to that somehow!â€ Quinn looked up at him knowingly. â€œI have a reputation to uphold, you know. I try not to disappoint.â€

Itâ€™s plain we canâ€™t just stay in here until all this dies down. We got lucky this time. Eventually a guardâ€™s going to come around for treatment that doesnâ€™t care how useful Azuka is. Should I just wait and pummel anyone who decides to be a problem, or should we break for it now?

â€œSo, shall we risk hanging out in here, or do we break for it? Weâ€™ve got a good thing going here, but it wonâ€™ t work forever. Eventually weâ€™re going to have to leave.â€ Quinn paused. â€œHow good a healer are you? None of this macho crap, I donâ€™t need to be getting myself killed. If youâ€™ve got some more of that in you, we should probably break for it now, before the real enforcement kicks in. I can do the fighting, and you can try to keep me from getting killed. You up for it?â€

"Y..yeah! I think so, at least!" Azuka said, scratching his head. "I mean, if you get your head chopped off, I can't really do much there, but this old hag where I used to live taught me a lot of healing spells. I've got you covered!" he said, trying to make a cool, stylish thumbs-up sign. "So..uhh..where do we go now?"

Outside, all was quiet. Bodies littered the ground, both guards and prisoners alike. It seemed as if all the fighting was over.

Three figures stood in front of the entrance to the prison, admiring their work.

"I can't believe they called us down for this." A tall, red-haired man in armor complained. "Any idiot who can fight could have gotten this taken care of."

"You may be right." A man in a black bodysuit, with short brown hair spoke up. He lit a cigarette, and took a quick puff before continuing. "Have you done enough for one evening, then?"

"Yeah right." the red-haired man grinned. "This is just like an appetizer."

"Well then." the man in black turned around, cigarette in tow, and stared at the entrance to the prison complex. "Shall we see what lies in store for us in there?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me." the red-haired man said, making his way through the large iron gate.

"And you...?" the man in black turned to the third figure, a woman in a long purple dress, with shoulder-length blue hair.

"You boys go have your fun." the woman said, sitting upon a post of a wrecked fence. "I'll wait for you out here."

"As you wish." the man in black smirked, following his comrade inside.

â€œOkay then. Iâ€™ll go first, you stay close to me. If anything happens, donâ€˜t worry about me. You can fix me but I canâ€˜t do the same for you.â€ She took his hand and opened the door slowly.
The quiet outside hadnâ€™t found its way inside the prison. Quinn stepped out into a hall full of rushing prisoners. Almost immediately she was separated from Azuka by a very oily, foul-smelling man who tried to drag her into another hallway. She lost sight of Azuka and hoped heâ€™d get back in his office or something.

â€œMreh! You know how long itâ€™s been since I had a woman?!â€ he shouted over the din.
â€œBy the smell of you, I can guess!â€ she shouted back.
He grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to lift her, but couldnâ€™t quite reach around her wings. â€œDammit, if I have to break them damn things off I will.â€
Quinnâ€™s eyes widened in rage. â€œLike HELL YOU WILL.â€ Throwing her arms forward she sent the prisoner crashing into the opposite wall. Groaning, he reached around to feel the broken bones in the back of his skull. Before he had a chance to say a word Quinn tensed and leapt on him from her station at the other wall. She dug her nails into the back of his neck up to the second knuckle and bit him across the windpipe to suffocate him like a lion. She fell with him when he hit the floor, and picked herself up.

Thatâ€™s the one thing I hate about prison. Nobody gets laid and they all go crazy.

Quinn shoved and battered her way back to where she last saw Azuka. Now where did that boy go?

"Quiiiiiiiiinn!!" Azuka shouted, dodging the mob of prisoners as best he could. One man tried to clothesline him across the neck, and Azuka barely ducked him, sticking out his foot and tripping the man, causing his head to go crashing into someone else's knee.

"Settle down, you guys! What's wrong with you!?" Azuka tried to communicate to someone, anyone, to find out what was going on.

"THEY'RE HERE!" one man shouted, running through the crowd wildly, his rags bunched up in his hands. "KIELRUTH'S MEN!! THEY CAME HERE!"

"Kielruth...?" Azuka ran the name through his head, trying to attach some meaning to it.

Then, the words of the farmer that Azuka had talked to, four long months ago after saving his daughter, echoed in his mind: "We have been under military oppression for the last 50 years.....a man by the name of Kielruth....."

Azuka tried to get his head above the crowd, and spot these 'men' everyone was speaking of. I wonder how out of hand this is really getting... he thought to himself. Man, I hope I get off this damn island soon!!

Azuka noticed that the direction in which most of the prisoners were running were towards the deeper confines of the prison. That could only mean that the men were coming from the outside....and were trying to trap them all in here!

"IDIOTS!" Azuka yelled. "You're all going the wrong way!"

"Screw you!" someone yelled, tossing an old chicken bone at his head, hitting him smack in his forehead.

"Hey, who threw that!!?" Azuka shouted. "I'll have you know, I'm..."

Suddenly, he noticed the volume of the crowd dying down. Most of the prisoners who could move had made their way out of the hallway, and Azuka was one of the only ones left. Quinn was apparently nowhere to be seen, yet there were only two exits she could have gone out of -- one to the right, which attached to an adjoining hallway, and the northern exit to the hallway itself.

"Which one..." Azuka tried to decide fast, but alas, his time had run out.

Standing in the doorway to the hallway was a tall man in shining, exquisite armor, with a mess of red hair that went every which way around his head. He had a broadsword embroidered with golden symbols strapped to his side, and a dagger underneath it. He sneered at Azuka as he made his way into the hallway.

"Looks like you got left behind, doc!" he shouted, giving Azuka's clothes a good look over and then bursting into laughter. "Don't worry, though, your duties are over after this." he brandished the broadsword, holding it out in front of himself. "Just be sure to put up a good fight, okay?"

Azuka felt a wave of fear rush over him. Just the whole demeanor and attitude of the man had caught him off guard -- this was like nothing he'd ever dealt with before. He quickly started chanting a defensive spell, hoping to create a shield before the man could strike.

The swordsman rushed him immediately, aiming for a strike at Azuka's midsection. Luckilly, he had the shield up in time, and the two collided with an explosive crackle of magic. The shield shattered immediately, and Azuka was flung back against the southern wall...but at least he was still in one piece.

This isn't going to work forever...he thought sadly, as he picked himself up the ground and began chanting again.

The swordsman was getting ready for another attack, when a new voice entered the room.

"Graham, what are you doing?" It was the man in the black bodysuit, still smoking a cigarette. "You're really wasting your time on a doctor? Come on, all the prisoners ran down there."

"Just lemme finish him off, then we'll continue." Graham continued. "Why don't you go check out what's in there while we're goin' at it, Rogan."

Rogan sighed. "Fine, fine..." he muttered, making his way past Graham and into the side passage of the hallway.